Inter 1 - 0 Napoli: Lautaro hits late winner!

MILAN - A tenacious and determined Inter side won the big match in the 18th round of Serie A TIM fixtures against Carlo Ancelotti’s Napoli. Lautaro Martinez’s goal in stoppage time proved decisive and was enough to secure three big points that move the Nerazzurri onto 36 points for the season, five behind tonight’s opponents in second.

It was incredible to see but Inter went close in the first second. Mauro Icardi fired the kick-off straight at goal, Meret was almost caught out but the ball hit the crossbar. The start of the match saw the Nerazzurri on top. In the sixth minute, a teasing Brozovic cross was cleared by Mario Rui. Two minutes later, Politano let fly with a spectacular strike on the turn but it was always rising. The visitors got up the pitch in the tenth minute with a powerful but inaccurate effort from Milik. In the 16th minute, Insigne attempted to curl one in with his right but Handanovic was alert to dive away and make the save. The match became balanced before picking up again in the 32nd minute when Perisic found the net with a superb left-foot volley but it was disallowed for a narrow offside. Napoli responded in the 37th minute when a Fabian Ruiz effort went off target. After, Joao Mario got on the end of a Politano cross but his header was straight at Meret. Inter had another big chance in the 43rd minute. Icardi received the ball from Joao Mario, he span away and got beyond Meret but Koulibaly slid to make a vital clearance off the line. The Nerazzurri finished the half on the front foot with Perisic laying the ball off for Joao Mario who couldn’t keep his effort on goal. Mazzoleni then blew his whistle and the sides went back down the tunnel with it still goalless.

The first chance of the second half fell to Inter. Icardi worked the ball well after being played in by Perisic, as the captain then cut the ball back for Brozovic who missed the target with a first-time effort. Just five minutes later, Politano put the ball across for Perisic, yet the Croatian failed to make contact. Spalletti soon sent on Vecino in place of Borja Valero to help revitalise the Nerazzurri midfield.

The visitors then had a chance of their own in the 66th minute, as Callejon forced Handanovic into a strong low save with a stinging strike. It didn’t take long for Inter to fight back, with Koulibaly pulling off a superb interception to keep out a cross from Perisic that seemed destined to find the foot of Icardi.

With the game locked at 0-0, Spalletti sent on Keita in place of Perisic before Napoli were then reduced to 10 men after two quick-fire yellow cards for Koulibaly. The first was for a foul on Politano, while the crucial second was then for sarcastic applause. The Nerazzurri Coach immediately looked to capitalise on his side’s numerical advantage, bringing on Lautaro in place of Joao Mario for a final assault.

The 84th minute saw Meret make a wonderful save to keep out a diving header from Icardi, while Napoli then very nearly took the lead in the 90th minute. Handanovic palmed out an initial effort before Asamoah then produced a dramatic goal-line clearance to prevent Zielinski.

With danger averted, it was then Inter who snatched the winning goal at the death. A cross from Keita made its way to Lautaro in the middle, whose left-footed effort beat Meret to his bottom corner. The 63,946 fans present at San Siro duly exploded with joy, seconds before Insigne was then sent off before the final whistle.

Inter’s last game of the year will be on Saturday 29 December at 15:00 CET, as they face off against Empoli at the Castellani.

#ForzaInter, now and forever!

INTER 1-0 NAPOLI

Goalscorers: 90 +2' Lautaro

INTER: 1 Handanovic; 33 D'Ambrosio, 6 De Vrij, 37 Skriniar, 18 Asamoah; 20 Borja Valero (64' 8 Vecino), 77 Brozovic, 15 Joao Mario (83' 10 Lautaro); 16 Politano, 9 Icardi, 44 Perisic (74' 11 Keita)

Substitutes: 27 Padelli, 2 Vrsaljko, 5 Gagliardini, 13 Ranocchia, 29 Dalbert, 87 Candreva

Coach: Luciano Spalletti

NAPOLI: 1 Meret; 7 Callejon, 33 Albiol, 26 Koulibaly, 6 Mario Rui (78' 31 Ghoulam); 8 Fabian Ruiz, 5 Allan, 17 Hamsik (24' 19 Maksimovic), 20 Zielinski; 99 Milik (71' 14 Mertens), 24 Insigne

Substitutes: 25 Ospina, 27 Karnezis, 2 Malcuit, 9 Verdi, 11 Ounas, 13 Luperto, 23 Hysaj, 30 Rog, 34 Younes, 42 Diawara

Coach: Carlo Ancelotti

Bookings: Brozovic (I), Borja Valero (I), Allan (N), Albiol (N), Lautaro (I)

Redcards: 81' Koulibaly (N), 94' Insigne (N)

Addedtime: 2' + 3'

Referee: Mazzoleni

Assistants: Costanzo, Paganessi

Fourthofficial: Abisso

VARoperators: Manganiello, Peretti